In chronological order this morning - rain, cold, headwind, puddles resembling lakes, crosswind, more rain, back to the headwind, rivers flowing down La Trobe St and one tradie and a taxi who seriously need to learn that Copenhagen lanes are not parking bays.

Mind you, should be considerably easier riding home and it's still infinitely more preferable to driving or the lottery that is public transport.

jasonc wrote:I've had a big week commuting. so far just shy of 330kms.

Good work, I fear I've slacked off a bit this week, less than 300km...broken spoke on primary commuter, riding spare bike, rain .. <insert more excuses here>

winter in brisbane makes it hard to keep up. want me to take a photo of the terrible weather we are having?

Just had a look at your BoM radar image ...looks vastly different to the one for Melbourne...arrrgh! Think I might have to multi-hop the ride back via some welcoming, cozy and dry old haunts of mine...

After crashing my beast through the commute off and up curbs this week around cars and buses blocking PSP crossings, one final dropoff slackened the chain axle moving forward in horizontal dropout (Nexus7). In hindsight I remember hearing some ting-ting of the chain bouncing on the chain guard after that final drop only ~3km from home. I had just slowed past a roadie pumping his rear tyre and looked sorted so jumped off that curb that was the final straw, a couple gear changes later on the flat the chain dropped off.

I'd passed 2 riders and not seen any others last night in 17km out of the city, the raining morning and fun headwind may have not been for everybody's taste =PContemplating jogging or waiting for wife to bring the 15mm axle tool I had not put back in pannier after using it on another bike at home (doh), a 3rd rider appeared as I walked up a hill and in a few quick seconds requested a 15mm axle tool. He said you're in luck, I'm a Fixie rider! He seemed as surprised as me probably having seen nobody on his trip to have found me with single chain needing an axle tool I had to apologise for just having excessively lubed the chain given the wet weather with lanolin everywhere, I also had brand new white patched gloves to put aside while he sacrificed his black ones.

Turns out he's a neighbour one secondary street parallel to me, he's ridden his commute here for past 6 years and me 3 years, so it was that small world nice friendly helpful feeling. Legs were fresh from the breakdown rest so made the final few km's a bit easier than a Thursday night normally would into a stiff headwind. Good luck feeling and didn't take much more time. Ironically my daughter was upset when I got home cos she thought she was going out with Mummy to help Daddy fix his bike. Can't win them all =P

I forgot the little incident on the ride in this morning, probably because it is a cycling black spot and I'm used to having people almost right hook me there. The car saw me just before it crossed the bike lane (which was obscured by a truck that had ignored the keep clear sign).

This evening wasn't the best commute home with the Friday moron traffic. A superannuation company branded car failed to check before ducking into the left lane and pushing me into the gutter because he ducked into where I already was. He was then stuck at the lights 20m ahead and I politely told him what he had done and to look next time. He seemed apologetic and gave me the thumbs up when I asked him to look next time. I might also write to the company too.

Then on the downhill 'Copenhagen' lane on Albert Street a car pops around from behind an illegally parked car and turns into a driveway without checking the bike lane. Braking and shouting by me was involved in that one. I don't think she heard.

Further down the same road the construction workers had parked their bulldozer truck trailer completely over the bike lane at the crucial spot where the bike lane moves out from the gutter and the left turning car lane crosses the bike lane. I shouted that it wasn't the smartest place to park their trailer to the construction worker I saw nearby but either he didn't hear me or didn't care.

So not the greatest ride home. I should have some MM footage to upload on Monday...

Nice morning out this morning. Extended the ride by a few kms along the lake. Put in a reasonable effort to catch another rider. He was easy to pass, but had about 2km head start on me. Took nearly 6km to catch him, no CCR point though he was down the scale with me on roadie and him on a flat bar roadie. Got to work, grabbed the phone to stop my GPS tracking and found that I had paused it at home, rather than start recording. Hate that.

bychosis (bahy-koh-sis): A mental disorder of delusions indicating impaired contact with a reality of no bicycles.

Friday ended an odd week of commuting for me, suitably with another strange issue. Walked into the bike cage to see my standby commuter sitting on a flat rear tyre. IGH hub on the standby, great. There's a floor pump in the bike cage on the next level, so I decide to push the bike up there, fill 'er up, and see what's going on with the tyre. Couldn't detect any obvious leaks, so I take the chance and hop on, headed for Eaglemont to meet up with Mrs TW at the local. Howling wind and threatening rain, but got there without issues. Relaxed at the local for a bit, then got lazy and justified chucking the bike in the back of the car with the possibility of my tyre letting me down (literally) along the way. So ended the week, with a lot less mileage than normal.

Windy again this morning, but fairly warm, and back on my primary commuter. The northerly blew me into the Melbourne CBD, so I didn't have to work too hard...suited me just fine on a Monday morning...

It was nice till a pedestrian played chicken with me on the bike path 5 or 6 times city bound on the Epping Rd/Gore Hill Cycleway near the bus stop at Longueville Rd. I was at an appropriately slow speed, and riding a predictable line. All the other disembarked passengers had moved over to the other side, except her. We somehow managed to pass without colliding; and in frustration after I passed I muttered "far out" to which I hear a "how rude" comment from her. Now I feel guilty; however as I wasn't intending to be rude hence why no expletives and if she couldn't see the blindingly obvious frustration she caused me by walking randomly then I give up! Not sure what else I could have done.

And then to top off the ride a black 4wd that had a quiet engine didn't have its lights on; and I almost rode into its path.

Single speed chain popped off again tonight, axle tool back in bag this time though Happened at a crossing just as passing a rider I caught up to, then had to stop.Refitted with wheel line off so coaster brake was skimming.

edit: turned it on its head at home and found a keyring bottle opener was perfect width/fit into the dropouts to set the dropout tension. While there checked hub cable tension and fitted a new globe to the dynamo headlight. The two original round globe head/park 3W halogens only lasted a week of bumpy commuting. The new/used one poached from another dynamo bike is the calligraphy pen type globe, 2.4W but still makes heat on the arm testing it for a moment. Keen for an LED set for all, maybe some funky colours for the park light

Last edited by eldavo on Tue Aug 13, 2013 10:26 am, edited 2 times in total.

bychosis wrote:I pity those that had to go the other way but the wild tailwind was something that doesn't happen much outside August for me. Enjoyed crankin home at a good pace and got a decent time out of it.

That was lucky me...started off with 50k headwinds and eventually it got down to a pleasant 30 k head wind. A neighbour saw me and stopped, I had 15 k to go, and asked if I wanted a lift since his van was getting blown all over the place and he thought I may be having a hard time. I stupidly said thanks but no thanks...thanks TW and Jasonc

This morning I had a nice 20 k tailwind...I wish it was more like 50k but I will take what I can. Weather is just brilliant at the moment too

Windy in Melbourne yesterday afternoon, with trees down, shredded foliage all over the paths. One unfortunate car parked under a tree at Alphington station had a substantial branch draped across its bonnet. Hard work home into head/cross winds.Some of the obstacles encountered:

This morning's commute was a bit of a nervous ride along the Darebin Creek Trail in the dark - the wind had been howling overnight, and I was expecting to encounter plenty of debris along the way. Wasn't too bad, had made a mental note of the debris the afternoon before, so no drama on my way into the CBD.

Well, looks like the idiots are out in force today... This morning's commute was interesting and I was glad to arrive at the office in one piece. A waste disposal truck overtook me in my lane (and I was comfortably 0.5-1m in the left lane). The car behind decided that if the truck can do it, so can he/she. Bloody hell... After that, I claimed the lane further.

About 200m from the office, this lady in her Toyota FT-86 is trying to park in a 90 degree parallel parking spot. First attempt, not right. So, she promptly reverses out (doesn't look, car in front slows then turns into another empty carpark spot). Now, I've seen her non-existent parking skills previously, and she cannot park to save her live, so I was approaching her cautiously. She looks like she's done, but she's not. She's reversed again (without looking for traffic) and nearly backs into me. By this point, I've come to a full stop in the middle of the road. I give an 'Oi!' to no effect but she finally sees me. She apologises and continues to attempt to park her car.

Two hours later, going down for coffee with a mate, and oh my gosh. You'd think that after going to all that trouble to park, she'd at least get it right. Still a parking fail...